I admire the fact that Tribute Games embraced the River City style with Scott Pilgrim EX, as it really makes this beat’em up more of an adventure. The artistic direction and soundtrack are perfect too, and the combat flows well. I do wish the story were stronger and some of my favorite characters from the previous game had been playable, and the presence of launch bugs that can affect multiplayer is a downer. But at the very least, after a patch or two, those gameplay issues should be fixed.

BlazBlue Entropy Effect X is a generally sound roguelike with lots of references to the fighting game series. The story could be better, but at least this time around it feels more directly tied to BlazBlue. I did encounter some issues on the Switch, but they also seemed like problems that could be patched out along the way. If you’re into games like Dead Cells and Astral Ascent, it’s certainly worth a look.

Pokemon Pokopia invites us to discover, explore, rebuild, and reconnect, rewarding us for every action along the way.

Gumball in Trick-or-Treat Land succeeds at keeping the Game Boy Color RPG vibe alive. It offers a lot to do while staying within certain limitations. However, those boundaries also mean it can sometimes be difficult to discern your next steps or running into fights you just can’t win at that point. Still, it’s a cute game and Exquisite Laundry Pet embraces that Halloween and GBC aesthetic.

Between Slay the Princess and Scarlet Hollow, Black Tabby Games is fast turning into a developer whose titles you can’t afford to ignore. The creativity, character development, and world-building are excellent in this latest visual novel, and the degree to which our experiences can change based on our choices is astonishing. It’s so well-thought out and impressive, and a perfect example of “your choices matter.”

Resident Evil Requiem feels like if Capcom took parts from 2R, 4R, 6, 7, and 8, then sanded them all down to fit together. As a game, it might be the most fun installment I’ve played in a very long time. It combines both classic survival horror and fast-paced action-horror without feeling completely incongruent or like it’s compromising something. Its strong level design is a promising step in the new direction the series is taking, yet it’s dragged down only by a weak and forgettable story.

Reanimal is an ominous, tense adventure that puts you in unsettling situations and leaves you to draw your own conclusions about what’s going on. So much so that it almost feels like the end is only the beginning of analyzing what’s happened here. While short, there are some interesting puzzles and encounters, the pacing is good, the NPC intelligence in single-player is competent, and there’s some great character and environmental design elements at play. A few bugs that will likely be patched out in a few weeks aside, it’s a great horror game.

Tokyo Scramble is a mess of a game, and it’s not even a situation where it is so bad that some element of it is in some way enjoyable. The story is bad. The script is terrible. The stages can involve areas that are poorly designed or feature massive difficulty spikes. The multiplayer basically makes it impossible to survive. I wasted about five hours on this game that I will never get back.

A gem of a game with quirky characters and an intriguing plot that's hard to put down, Paranormasight: The Mermaid's Curse is a game that I believe everyone should experience.

Pleasant and fluffy are great ways to describe Hakuoki SSL: Sweet School Life, as it is a light otome building on the characters we know and love. This does mean that Otomate and Idea Factory go in assuming you know everyone, so some character and relationship development is omitted. But if you do know about this series, it is absolutely worth it to get this missing piece of the puzzle and get to enjoy romances with love interests knowing it isn’t going to go as tragically as the historical Shinsengumi tale did.

While I’m a bit disappointed in the Adventure campaign, Mario Tennis Fever feels generally strong thanks to its Fever Rackets and range of modes. There are a lot of different ways to play tennis packed into this Super Mario sports game spin-off, and they often play with the idea of using special abilities to make things more exciting. Which can mean things like Mix It Up and Trial Towers modes can feel a little extra entertaining. I appreciate what Camelot and Nintendo did here and how it built on Mario Tennis Aces.

Decollate Decoration exemplifies the idea of style and substance, though it isn’t the most meaty horror story. It tells its tale in a brief, effective manner. That’s coupled with some lovely pixel art that uses effective color choices. KANEKODO’s tale is quite short, however, and people might want more interactions or details out of their unsettling stories.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties is generally fine, but I found it a less exciting remake than the ones for Yakuza 1 and 2. There are certain narrative and design decision elements that left me feeling the remaster of this could be more enjoyable sometimes. And while the Yoshitaka Mine storyline does offer some insights, the enjoyment someone would get out of it is really dependent on how much the player likes that particular character. In short, it’s a situation in which the remake does offer some benefits like quality of life combat adjustments and greater reach, but doesn’t totally replace the original game or remaster.

Mewgenics is satisfying, and I think the development team isn’t exaggerating when they say the campaign can last over 200 hours. Review copy provided by company for testing purposes.

Team Ninja has leveraged the studio’s years of experience to make Nioh 3 feel the most interesting out of any game in the series. Being accessible doesn’t mean that the game makes compromises with its intended audience. Nioh 3 can also be the studio’s most devilish endeavor. The inclusion of so many options and flexibility, both in combat and exploration, means that frustration is kept at a minimum in a genre known for its challenge, while maintaining the friction necessary for triumph to taste oh so sweet.

Dragon Quest VII Reimagined smooths out a lot of rough edges, but it loses some of the flavor of the original in the process.

TR-49 is a perfect type of puzzle for people who love reading through tons of data to complete intricate investigations.

Tales of Xillia Remastered is another totally fine remaster, with Bandai Namco ensuring all of the original’s content is paired with some QOL additions on the Switch. It’s a totally serviceable way to play the game. Especially since it only first appeared on the PS3, limiting its scope. There are some instances on the original Switch where it is noticeably not hitting the same marks as other platforms, but it does run better on a Switch 2 if you’ve got one. It’s definitely worth revisiting if you love the series.

If you enjoy Dominion, Tanto Cuore, and other kinds of strategic deck-building games, then Heart of Crown Online should be in your library. If the genre is new to you, it’s a good place to start! The concept is entertaining, and the single-player Scenario Mode is a helpful way to learn how to play. Since it also spent time in Steam Early Access, it feels really solid at launch too.

Big Hops is a really pleasant platformer that gives players many ways to approach its challenges. It’s versatile, and the controls feel pitch perfect. The nature of it also means we get to see some pretty varied biomes. Some worlds do feel more interesting than others, sadly, and and the story could be stronger. Still, it’s quite enjoyable and worth someone’s time if they enjoyed titles like Yooka Laylee and Super Mario 64.

Cassette Boy is at its best when challenging you to rethink your perspective to solve puzzles in this The Legend of Zelda and Fez style adventure. There are times when it can really test you and make you think! The minimalistic design direction is also a highlight. However, some combat elements can occasionally feel finicky, especially when the bow is involved. It definitely can be quite clever, and it’s well worth at the very least trying the demo if you also enjoyed games like Fez.

Temirana: The Lucky Princess and the Tragic Knights ended up being a fantastic otome game that blended romantic comedy with drama. The cast is wonderful. The story it tells is captivating. It avoids the traps of falling into archetypes. There are all the quality of life features we expect from a visual novel. It’s a sound game, and I even think people who aren’t into otomes may enjoy it.

Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road is a lot, and it feels like an installment that attempts to cover almost every possible aspect of the series. It doesn’t top the earliest Mamoru Endo DS entries for me. However, there’s so much here that it feels like a mode exists for every possible player. Not to mention that it is admirable to see it not only released, but is genuinely good. There are some minor issues, such as balancing and NPC intelligence in matches. The CPU isn’t great about making decisions. However, the fact that we are seeing rebalancing and substantial updates like Re-Story make me wonder if this could eventually turn into a 9 out of 10 game in a few weeks or months with additional patches and fixes to things like online multiplayer.

The gameplay in Angeline Era is challenging and entertaining, reminiscent of Ys games, but its story feels even more important.

La Storia Della Arcana Famiglia Rinato is such a dynamic, thrilling, and even funny otome game from HuneX and Dramatic Create.

The Good Old Days captures the same sort of spirit as The Goonies, while also feeling like a unique Metroidvania. There are many ways to approach it and solve Sean’s money problems. All of them can be interesting. Can it get a little clunky? Yes. However, the nature of it and way it encourages replays does mean subsequent runs feel a little more manageable.

The struggle in Death Howl is real, both in terms of its story and challenge. It’s meaningful and haunting. While it can mean going through quite a bit of grinding and dealing with major foes and a bit of unfair RNG, it is a battle worth fighting.

Little Corners is like an opportunity to return to the times of playing with Colorforms and sticker books to decorate a room. There aren’t customization features, in terms of things like resizing or recoloring. There aren’t tons of interactions. But it is very relaxing to go through the eight different areas and arrange things to your liking. And when you do happen upon a special combination of stickers to unlock something, it can feel pretty special. I just wish there was a little bit more to it.